Every Rose Has its Thorn
by KB103
Summary: Arizona and Callie venture to the Wildrose for a night out. Callie meets Arizona's "lesbian friends" for the first time, and well...it doesn't go as planned. Can they salvage their date night? For the Secret Santa Challenge at LJ


Title: Every Rose Has Its Thorn  
>Author: KB103<br>Pairing: Callie/Arizona Canon  
>Rating: M<br>Summary: Arizona and Callie venture to the Wildrose for a night out. Callie meets Arizona's "lesbian friends" for the first time, and well...it doesn't go as planned. Can they salvage their date night?  
>Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's, that distinction is reserved for Shonda. No copyright infringement is intended by this story, just lots of smiles and giggles.<p>

A/N: Happy Holidays Roughian! The prompt was: _I quite lik e fics with Arizona's friends in them meeting Callie, oooo maybe even meeting Callie for the first time. Big group of "already established " lesbians. _I hope this is what you have in mind. I made sure to get some good length (4300 words). I just want to say it is an honor writing for you. I enjoy your work, and I hope this meets your expectations.

All my best,

~KB~

* * *

><p><em>Every Rose Has Its Thorn<em>

Callie fidgeted nervously at the nurses' station as her eyes flitted over a chart. She constantly shifted her weight, and was bouncing slightly on one foot. It looked like she was doing her pee dance. She didn't know why she was so unbelievably nervous; it was just a night out with her girlfriend…and her lesbian friends…whom she'd never met. It was no big deal. Not at all.

"What's wrong with you, Torres?" Mark asked as he walked by. "Usually you're stoked when you have a date night with Robbins."

Callie whirled on him, her eyes staring him into the floor. "How do you know I have a date with Arizona tonight?"

"She told me," he replied simply. "I wanted to come over and watch the game tonight, but she told me to suck it up and watch alone because you two were going to have fun."

"Oh shit, that's right," the Latina cursed. "The game's on tonight."

"What's up?" Mark inquired as he bit into his apple and watched a nurse walk by.

Callie sighed. "Arizona and I are going out with her lesbian friends and I've never met them, but due to how Arizona treated me right after our little bar bathroom incident, I'm going to guess they aren't too excited about bisexuals. Needless to say, I'm nervous as hell…" she trailed off, noticing Mark wasn't paying any attention to her, but was instead fixated on Lexie's backside thirty feet away. His obsession was a little disgusting. "You aren't listening to me at all."

"I'm sorry what?" Mark said, turning towards his friend, but she was already halfway down the hall.

"Forget it," Callie responded, still walking away from him.

"Just walk tall, Torres," Mark shouted after her, hoping the advice reached her ears.

The Latina shook her head as she ducked into the Attendings' lounge. Arizona wasn't off for another hour, so Callie was going to head back to her apartment to get ready for their evening. They were first having dinner out, but then were going to get drinks at The Wild Rose, a lovely lady gathering place, as Arizona described it. Callie hoped it was more of a bar scene than a club because she was getting to be a bit old for the loud techno of night clubs, though she hated admitting it. Something about being in her early thirties, told her she needed to be thinking about settling down, not partying it up downtown.

Crossing the parking lot of Seattle Grace Mercy West, Callie shook her head gently, hoping to rid it of the nerves and insecurities. She took the elevator in her apartment building, and waited patiently for the elevator to arrive at her floor. A few minutes later, the brunette entered her apartment and headed straight for the shower. She needed to rinse the day from her skin, and just take a minute to collect herself. She didn't want to make an ass out of herself or Arizona tonight; she needed to restore that classic Callie Torres confidence and swagger.

After finishing her shower, the brunette dried off quickly and put on her robe so she could do her hair and makeup. Arizona was actually going to get ready at her apartment, which admittedly felt a little odd. During the course of their three month or so relationship, Arizona had spent the overwhelming majority of her time at Callie's apartment. The Latina could count on one hand the number of times she and the blonde had ventured to Arizona's. Some people might have found that to be odd, but truthfully, Callie liked being at her apartment most of the time. It was so convenient, and as much as she sometimes hated to admit it¸ she didn't like not talking to Cristina for long periods of time.

Her relationship with Cristina confused many people who didn't know either of them well. Cristina was one of the people at Seattle Grace Mercy West who had seen Callie at her worst in her personal life, her best in her professional life, and vice versa. She'd been a wonderful friend to Callie, despite her surly nature. She just knew what the Latina needed, whether it was an awkward shoulder patting, or tequila and dancing it out. Callie wasn't quite ready to give that up.

Her hair and makeup done, Callie quickly checked the clock. Arizona would be over in just under a half hour. They were going out on an actual date, which hadn't happened since the very beginning of their relationship. After the whole four star restaurant debacle, and the ensuing make up after Izzie's wedding, their lives had just been so crazy. George died, she lost her job, she got a new job, she got her old job back with a promotion, her father visited, and just like that, a couple of months had passed. It was crazy to think about, but she and Arizona really hadn't been out together since that failure of a date before the wedding.

That thought gave Callie both nerves and renewed confidence. She really wanted them to have a wonderful time to make up for that lost evening. So much had changed, and they were just in a much better place than they were then. The pizza and sex weren't bad or anything; that night had been amazing, but Callie felt like she and Arizona reached a new level of maturity in their first few months together. It hadn't been an easy few months with life throwing them curveballs left and right, but they made it to the other side, with seemingly a wonderful partnership ahead. Callie didn't want to get ahead of herself, but today, her near future was wrapped up in Arizona. She felt something deeper with the blonde than she'd ever had at this stage with anyone else.

Slipping a black dress over her head, the Latina relished in the way the material hugged her body. She'd never felt as beautiful as when she caught Arizona not so surreptitiously staring at her. The way Arizona took time to worship her body as they made love nearly brought tears to Callie's eyes their first night. There was no better feeling in Callie's opinion.

Making her way out of the bedroom, the brunette did a quick sweep of the living area. She threw all of Cristina's crap on her floor and shut the door. As comfortable as she and Arizona were, Callie still felt the need to clean before the blonde came over. Once the living room was clean, Callie quickly returned to her bedroom, changed her sheets and made the bed, just in case they ended up there for the night. She looked to make sure she had Arizona's favorite bubble bath scent ready in the bathroom cabinet. Satisfied she was prepared for the evening, the Latina took a seat on the couch, and waited for Arizona to knock on the door.

She didn't have to wait long as not five minutes later a knock on the door made Callie's heart race. She stood, smoothed out her dress, and sauntered towards the door. As she opened it, however, her face immediately fell. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Nice to see you too," Mark commented, pushing passed his friend into her apartment, munching on yet another apple.

Callie gaped at him. Where did he get all of these apples? "Seriously, Mark, you can't be here. I'm leaving for my date soon."

"I know. I know, but Lexie's birthday is coming up and I wanted to do something sweet."

"We can talk about this later," the brunette replied, forcibly pushing him back into the hall, slamming the door behind him. Not thirty seconds later, another wrap on the door sounded through the apartment. Grumbling Callie flung it open, "Mark if y….oh," she trailed off upon seeing Arizona's smiling face greeting her. "I'm sorry. Hi."

"Hi," the blonde giggled, quickly stealing a kiss from the taller woman. She slid passed Callie and went to the kitchen counter. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought by a couple bottles of wine. I figured we could have some after."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Getting a little presumptuous are we?" she playfully teased, knowing it would catch her girlfriend off guard.

"Um…I…uh…" the blonde stammered.

"I was kidding," Callie supplied, hoping to stop Arizona's nervous babbling. She wrapped her arms around the blonde's slender waist, and dropped a string of kisses along her neck. "You can absolutely be presumptuous tonight," she whispered against the sensitive flesh of Arizona's ear, eliciting a shiver from the woman in her arms. Stifling a chuckle, Callie stepped back, and walked back towards the door. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Arizona replied in more of a whimper than anything else.

"Come on," Callie said with a chuckle, holding out her hand. Arizona took it and they walked happily down to the elevator. Soon they sat in Arizona's car heading for a fun night out.

* * *

><p>The two women walked hand in hand into Wildrose. Callie was immediately thankful she didn't instantly feel out of place. There was definitely a DJ and the place was packed, but she didn't get an out of control club feel. Arizona's head immediately bopped along to the beat as she scanned the seating area for her friends. Callie merely followed her, linking their hands together so neither would be separated.<p>

"Arizona!" Someone called from a booth.

"HI!" the blonde squealed as she let go of Callie's hand to embrace the seemingly never ending train of lesbians.

Callie definitely felt left behind, but she put a smile on her face because she and Arizona had a wonderful beginning to their evening, and the brunette wanted to preserve that. She wasn't going to let her own insecurities and emotions ruin it. Putting on her brave face, she stepped up to Arizona's side, and wrapped an arm comfortably around her waist. "Hi, I'm Ca…"

"Arizona," one of the lesbians interrupted, "tell us what's going on in your life, it's been ages since we've all gotten a chance to get together."

"Well," the blonde started, a gigantic smile gracing her features, "this is Callie, my girlfriend. She's the one I won't shut up about."

"She definitely looks bisexual," one of Arizona's friends muttered to another.

Ignoring her friend's comment, Arizona went around the booth, introducing Callie to each of them. "Calliope, this is Del, Janice, Riese, Courtney, and Jay."

"Nice to meet all of you," the Latina replied dutifully, her eyes boring into those belonging to the woman who made the disparaging remark, Del, she thought her name was.

"So tell me what's going on," Arizona said, obviously enjoying herself.

Callie put her hand on Arizona's thigh and squeezed gently, offering her girlfriend a smile. Callie tried to participate in the conversation at first, but quickly it devolved into discussion about people she didn't know, bands she didn't know, books she didn't know, and everything else she simply didn't know. She smiled and nodded along because, truthfully, she'd never seen Arizona so happy and free. In their day-to-day lives, they spent so much time in public as professionals, that regardless of orientation, much was kept private. Here, however, it was like a whole new world. There were feminine women, masculine women, and everyone in between. Despite feeling left out of the conversation, she at least felt like she was learning something.

"What about you Callie?"

"I'm sorry, what?" the Latina asked, flustered at being pulled back into the conversation unexpectedly.

"We were just talking about Pride," Arizona supplied.

"Yeah," Janice agreed, "Del, here, just asked when your first Pride was."

"Oh," the brunette frowned, "I've never been," she admitted, hating the little smirk that appeared on Del's face.

"OH MY GOD!"

"Seriously?"

"I was hoping to go with Arizona next summer," Callie replied, hoping that would get them off her back.

"That's optimistic," Del breathed quietly.

"You have to go," Janice gushed, ignoring Del's comment. "seriously you have not lived until you've experienced this."

"Yeah really, "what have you been doing with your life?" Jay asked playfully.

"Saving others," Callie replied hotly.

"Calliope," Arizona admonished.

"I'm sorry," the brunette apologized. "I'm going to grab a drink. Arizona, do you want anything?"

"A beer would be nice," she responded brightly, smiling away the tension.

Callie dropped a quick kiss on her girlfriend's cheek before sliding out of the booth. "I'll be back in a bit." Taking a couple of deep breaths as she approached the bar, Callie tried to calm herself down. This wasn't that big of a deal. Arizona's friends were just a little rude, and her lovely girlfriend did very little to curtail them. Perhaps a couple of months ago, that little episode would have been enough to completely ruin her confidence, her night, and her relationship, but the brunette liked to think she had matured. She didn't take her anger out on others anymore.

She took it out on a bottle of tequila.

"Two tequila shots please," she requested from the bartender, "oh and a beer," she added before she forgot.

"Preference?" the bartender inquired.

"Most expensive German," the Latina answered, knowing how much the blonde loved her imported beers. She was a bit of a beer snob, but the Latina thought it was cute. "Hold the shots for a second," she requested as she grabbed the beer. She figured she'd take it back to the booth before she got her own drinks. As she approached the table, she heard Riese loudly telling a story.

"So I go home and find her fucking her best 'guy' friend. Seriously just on her back like….ugh. Yeah, that's why newborns are a no go."

Callie bristled at the comment, but soldiered on. She placed the beer on the table in front of Arizona. "Here you go."

"Oh thanks, Calliope," she smiled, "you remembered my favorite."

"Of course," the Latina answered, offering a weak smile. "I'm going to run to the bathroom."

"Calliope…"

"I'll be back in a bit," Callie interrupted, turning back towards the bar. She heard Del asking about Mark, and that was enough to finally put her over the edge. She turned on her heel and just about marched back over there to wring the woman's neck, but caught herself just in time. She took an extra couple of breaths and signaled to the bartender as she returned to her stool. He nodded, dutifully placing two shots of tequila in front of her. Callie quickly downed the first, only lightly grimacing as the alcohol burned down her throat. She waited a few seconds before doing the second one, a breath leaving her lips as she turned over the glass.

"Rough night?"

Callie turned towards the voice, her eyes landing on a beautiful woman who also looked to be Latina. "Eh, just tense."

"I haven't seen you here before," she commented.

"First night. I came with my girlfriend to meet her friends."

"Not going well?"

Callie shrugged. "I just recently came out, probably only seven or eight months ago, so I'm not really knowledgeable about a lot of the stuff their talking about."

"Congratulations," the woman replied sincerely, "on coming out that is. Not the other stuff. How'd it go with the parents?"

For some reason, Callie felt like this woman understood where she was coming from, and the tequila was swimming in her brain, so she decided not to hold back. "Not great. My father cut me off. They're…"

"Super catholic?" she supplied. "Yeah I've been there. I just came out a few years ago, and my parents didn't take it well. Hang in there, though."

"Yeah, my dad has already accepted it," Callie smiled.

"Awesome! Care to celebrate with a dance?"

The brunette smiled. "Sure." Callie followed her towards the dance floor where there was already a sizable crowd dancing the night away. "I'm Callie!" she yelled over the music.

"Jackie!" the other woman returned, her hips swaying gently.

Callie danced and laughed along with Jackie, happy that maybe she'd made a new friend out of this whole mess. She literally had zero gay friends, and while she hadn't been exactly looking for one, stumbling across this woman with a shared ethnic heritage certainly displayed a hole Callie didn't know she had.

"Do you salsa?" Jackie yelled over the music as a more Latin beat filled the room.

"Is that a serious question?" Callie asked, laughing.

Jackie spun so they faced one another, gripping Callie's hands into a dancing frame. "You lead."

* * *

><p>Back at the table, Arizona began to realize Callie had been gone for much longer than a quick bathroom run. It'd been close to twenty minutes. She was probably avoiding coming back to the table, and frankly Arizona didn't quite blame her. It wasn't like her friends had been welcoming to her girlfriend's presence. She appreciated Callie not making a scene, though, and hoped they could still salvage the night once they were alone.<p>

"What's up, Zona?" Courtney asked, noticing the blonde wasn't quite paying attention.

"Nothing, just wondering what happened to Calliope."

Del snorted. "What kind of name is that?"

"A beautiful one," the blonde replied icily. Del wasn't her closest friend of the bunch; she was more Courtney's friend than anyone else. She and her long time girlfriend had just broken up, which was why she was so bitter, but that didn't excuse her behavior. "You could be nicer to her, all of you could. I really like her, and I'd love it if you would all get along. She's a great person, and you should really just give her a chance, instead of putting her down all the time."

"We didn't say anything about her…" Janice defended.

"Don't start, Janice," Arizona interrupted. "Please don't insult my intelligence. I love all of you; you made my moving here so much easier. But I'm well on my way to loving her, and I'd appreciate it if you would respect that."

"We're sorry," Riese said for the group.

An awkward silence washed over the women as they all privately contemplated what the fuck had happened to Callie. Arizona was just about to get up and go find her, when she noticed something happening on the dance floor. Her curiosity piqued as she realized the entire group in that area was paying sole attention to a dancing couple in the middle. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Janice answered. "You want to go check it out?"

"Definitely," Arizona answered, knowing Callie never strayed too far from a dance. She followed Janice out to the middle of the room, her eyes widening as she realized it was Callie dancing. She had her head thrown back, laughing as she salsa danced with another Latina woman whom Arizona had never seen.

"Wow," Del said, staring a little too much for Arizona's comfort. "Girl can move."

"I know," the blonde replied, her little green monster making an appearance. Callie wasn't being inappropriate, but now Arizona was ready to show Callie's new friend just who was boss. Her eyes locked with Callie's over the other woman's shoulder, and Arizona tilted her head playfully, her eyes glinting w mischief. Callie gave her a nod, and Arizona walked out to the dancing pair. "Mind if I cut in?" she asked the other woman.

"Not at all," Jackie smiled, stealthily slipping Arizona one of her business cards, so she could give it to Callie later.

"You think you can handle this?" Callie inquired playfully, gliding her arms in place.

Arizona switched their positions within the frame. "I lead Calliope," she husked, stepping with her left foot. Callie allowed her body to fall into an easy rhythm with Arizona as they spun around the dancing space. The Latina was surprised at how well Arizona could dance. Neither was professional by any means, but Callie had danced at home practically her whole life, so to discover her girlfriend could keep up was a surprising treat. Arizona pulled her close for a kiss as the music died down. Callie had been expecting something cute, and chaste, but Arizona apparently had other ideas as she slid her tongue along the brunette's bottom lip. The kiss soon became something that was probably not meant to be for public consumption, but neither woman cared in the moment.

"Wow," Callie breathed, pulling away, and resting her forehead against the blonde's. "Where'd you learn to dance like that?"

"There's still plenty you don't know about me," the blonde answered with a wink, moving her hips to the new song playing over the speakers. Callie smiled and joined her, enjoying the (dirtier) reenactment of their first date. Callie's fingers rested on the blonde's hip, pulling her closer. Arizona smirked and turned her body so she was facing away from Callie. She could feel the Latina's warm breath caress her neck as their bodies slid against one another. She ground her hips against Callie's, relishing in the feeling of the brunette's nails digging into her thighs. Her eyelids fluttered as she felt those same fingertips dance right across her stomach, even getting so bold as to palm her breast over her dress. Unable to take it anymore, she finally turned back towards Callie. "Wanna get out of here?"

"What about your friends?"

"Fuck 'em," she replied, dragging Callie to the door of the bar.

They piled into Arizona's car and began what felt like the longest car ride in the history of the universe. It was only ten minutes, but Callie swore it was two hours, especially with the way Arizona was teasing her the whole way home. The blonde's fingers toyed with the hem of Callie's dress, pushing it up her thigh. It was utter torture. Callie felt flushed and horny as hell. She needed Arizona to get to her apartment like ten minutes ago.

Finally pulling into the parking lot at Callie's apartment building, the women bolted from the car, holding hands as they entered the building. In the elevator, Callie pinned the smaller woman to the wall, crashing their lips together in a searing kiss. Her hands roamed everywhere, tugging sexily at whatever she could find. Arizona moaned and arched against the Latina's body as Callie slid her hands underneath the blonde's dress and up her thighs. She played with the lace of Arizona's panties, snapping it against her skin.

The elevator dinged open and Callie all but dragged Arizona down the hall to the door to her apartment. After fidgeting with the keys for a couple minutes, she finally pushed the door open, stumbling with Arizona into the space she stared with Cristina. She slammed Arizona against the door, picking up where they left off in the elevator. Feeling feisty, however, the blonde pushed Callie off. She recaptured her lips in a heated kiss, and steered them back towards Callie's bedroom.

"Um guys," Cristina called from the couch, "I'm sitting right here."

"Go to Owen's," Callie fired back as she was pushed into her bedroom. Arizona distanced herself from the brunette, pulling the silky blue dress over her head and dropping it to the ground. Callie gulped as she took in the sight of Arizona clad in only a turquoise lace bra and panties. The blonde's eyes twinkled as she moved towards Callie. She stopped short and motioned for the Latina to rid herself of the dress.

Callie could feel Arizona's eyes raking over her exposed flesh as she pulled her black dress over her head, depositing it on the floor. Unlike Arizona, however, Callie was not wearing anything underneath. The blonde let out an audible groan at that discovery. Callie chuckled and reached for her girlfriend. As soon as their lips touched it was an explosion of pleasure and fireworks. Their weight carried them backwards onto the bed.

The Latina rid Arizona of their remaining barriers, moaning as she felt her fully naked body press against her own. They slipped and ground against each other as their tongues did the same, each looking for a bit of friction to aid their own release. The time for foreplay had long passed; Callie knew she couldn't wait much longer. From her anger and frustration earlier, to the dancing, to the teasing in the car, she needed release. "I need you now," she murmured to Arizona.

The blonde entered Callie with two fingers just as the Latina entered Arizona. They both hissed in pleasure at their connection. They mirrored one another's movements, grinding against their lover's hands. Moans escaped their lips, growing in volume with each passing second. Callie arched her back, her free hand grabbing her breast and teasing her own nipple. She was losing herself in pleasure, loving the sensations Arizona was giving her. The blonde began to ride Callie's hand in earnest, eager for her impending release. She panted, moaned, and nearly screamed as she felt the brunette's thumb flick her clit. They climbed higher and higher together until finally, their bodies quaked from pleasure.

"Oh my God," Callie breathed, collapsing onto the bed with Arizona on top of her.

"I'm sorry my friends were so shitty," Arizona said, still panting from their activities.

"It's fine," Callie replied.

"But really, I'm sorry."

"Arizona?"

"Yeah?" the blonde answered, looking down into Callie's brown eyes.

"Please don't talk about your friends while you are laying on top of me naked."

Arizona laughed as she kissed her way down the brunette's body. "Deal."


End file.
